South End’s New Office Building Will Replace Food Truck Friday Lot, Common Market, & Black Sheep

Steve
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South End’s New Office Building Will Replace Food Truck Friday Lot, Common Market, & Black Sheep

The architects developing the new mid-rise on top of South End’s old Food Truck Friday and soon-to-be demolished Common Market site just released a rendering of what the new building will look like (they have since removed the picture from their Twitter feed, saying the rendering is not finalized):

According to a representative from Cousins Properties, the new office building is planned to be 8 stories tall with 285,000 total square feet. There will be at least 15,000 square feet of retail on each of the buildings corners. The development will also include a parking deck with some spaces for public parking.

Construction is now expected to start by the end of this year.

new south end mid rise building
location of Dimensional Fund Advisors’ new headquarters building

Dimensional Fund Advisers will be receiving $18 million worth of local and state incentives for moving their headquarters here to Charlotte and bringing 316 new jobs.

Many people are now fearing that South End is losing it’s culture, with Food Truck Friday, the Common Market, and Black Sheep skate shop all having to move because of this new development. Amos’ Southend also recently announced it will be closing its doors, and will most likely be transformed into a new development.

What do you think about the continual re-development of South End?

Do you think the same thing will happen to NoDa when the new Light Rail Extension is completed?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Lake Norman’s Town of Troutman Is About To Get It’s First Liquor Store

Steve Peters
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Lake Norman’s Town of Troutman Is About To Get It’s First Liquor Store

troutman abc storeOne of Lake Norman’s northern-most towns, Troutman, as about to get their first liquor store in history.

Two years ago, local residents voted to approve the sale of liquor by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin.

Town leaders initially contemplated partnering with Mooresville and Statesville to build the new store, but just decided to build it on their own to keep all the tax revenue.

The town board just agreed to purchase some raw land on N. Main St. to build a brand new ABC Store – North Carolina’s only state-run liquor chain.

The plans call for a 4,000 sq. ft. structure that will resemble an old-school boathouse.

“It will contain white hardy plank siding on the front and exposed brick along the bottom. The town’s Design Review Board believes it will be an asset to the character of the community.” commented Erika Martin, Troutman’s town Planning Director.

Construction is now estimated to cost $500,000, and will be financed by the ABC Board, and a loan from BB&T Bank.

Do you think this will be a good addition to the town?

Top 10 Things To Do This Weekend In Charlotte

Steve
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Top 10 Things To Do This Weekend In Charlotte

This weekend is going to be incredible! There will be tons of food trucks, live music, festivals, football, baseball, and tons of bands from the 90s!

Here are the top 10 things happening around the Charlotte region this Weekend;

#1 Charlotte Knights vs. Durham Bulls

bb&t uptown charlotte ballpark2

The Charlotte Knights will be taking on the Durham Bulls this coming Thursday evening starting at 7:05pm.

For more information or for tickets click here.

#2 Panther’s First Home Game vs. The Patriots

panthers stadium charlotte

This coming Friday evening starting at 7:30pm, the Panthers will take the field against the New England Patriots for their first home pre-season game.

Considering we’re the reigning NFC champions and have one of the best defensive fronts in football, as well as last year’s MVP for a quarterback, I’m pretty confident the Patriots are going down.

For tickets or more info click here.

#3 Tour De Turns 

tour de turns

Charlotte’s 5th annual Tour De Turns ride will offer 15, 25, 37 and 62 mile routes, with something for everyone including a bit of competition with our “King and Queen of the Mountains Challenge” with 12 timed hill climbs on the 62 mile route.

The ride will raise money to support the work of Friendship Trays (Meals on Wheels in Charlotte-Mecklenburg) and its programs, Friendship Gardens and Friendship Kitchen and to promote backstreets cycling.

For more info or to register click here.

#4 Darius Rucker, Dan and Shay & Michael Ray

darius rucker charlotte

The legendary Darius Rucker will be coming to Charlotte along with the Rays to rock the PNC Music Pavilion stage this coming Saturday night.

For tickets or more info click here.

#5 1st Ward Food Fest

first ward food trucks charlotte

This weekend will feature a live DJ, yoga on the lawn, and a huge selection of local food trucks for Charlotteans to enjoy.

Check out more info on their website here.

#6 Dilworth Jubilee In The Park

Dilworth Jubilee In The Park

This coming Saturday from 3-9pm Latta Park will be hosting the annual Dilworth Jubilee.

Dilworth Jubilee is a neighborhood celebration organized by the Dilworth Community Association (DCA). The event began in 1973 and in 2015, DCA partnered with Tosco Music Party to offer an evening of free outdoor music as part of their summer tradition. Last year, over 1,000 people enjoyed the outdoor festivities including children’s games, local food vendors, a beer garden and an evening of live music.

For more information or to register click here.

#7 The Goo Goo Dolls, Collective Soul & Tribe Society

goo goo dolls coming to charlotte

This coming Sunday evening at 7pm, the 90s are back with the Goo Goo Dolls and Collective Soul live in concert at the Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre at the AvidXchange Music Factory.

For more information or for tickets click here.

#8 Charlotte Open Air Market

charlotte open air market

Charlotte’s biggest open air market this weekend will be taking place at the old Eastland Mall site Saturday and Sunday from 7am-5pm.

It will feature hundreds of local vendors, farmers, and craftsmen selling everything you can imagine.

For more information or tickets click here.

#9 Ja Rule & Ashanti

Irv, Ja Rule, Ashanti

The legendary duo from the 90s will be performing live this coming Sunday evening at Ovens Auditorium starting at 7pm.

For tickets or more info click here.

#10 Whitewater Center’s Riverjam

whitewater-center-river-jam1

The U.S. National Whitewater River Center’s popular Whitewater River Jam this coming Saturday evening will feature The Mike Strauss Band live on stage.

For more info click here.

If you think other events should be on this list or future lists, let us know – Scott@CharlotteStories.com

Charlotte-Based Tech Startup MapAnything Received $7.3 Million To Build New Headquarters

Charlotte Stories
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Charlotte-Based Tech Startup MapAnything Received $7.3 Million To Build New Headquarters

mapanythingCharlotte-based tech company, MapAnything just received $7.3 million in a new round of funding from a close group of investors. They will be using the money to expand into a new 21,000 square foot headquarters office near the intersection of Tyvola Road and i77.

The new headquarters will allow the company to expand to 170 employees, from their current level of 90.

Founded in Charlotte in 2009 by CEO John Stewart and CTO Ben Brantly, MapAnything, Inc. offers its mapping and geo-analytics solution to Salesforce users through the Salesforce AppExchange. They now have over 750 customers globally, ranging in all sizes and industries from small businesses to international enterprises.

The company’s flagship product, MapAnything™, provides mapping, schedule planning, route optimization, real time geo-location, territory management, geo-analytics and gives Salesforce users a “Map-Centric” experience.

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Local Police Are Trying To Shut Down Lake Norman’s Sandbar Parties

Charlotte Stories
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Local Police Are Trying To Shut Down Lake Norman’s Sandbar Parties

On any given weekend at Lake Norman’s sand bar, anywhere from 100 to 250 boats will gather together to bask in the sun and enjoy the water, but many don’t know that they are breaking the rules.

According to the Lake Norman Marine Commission’s ordinance, no more than 10 boats are allowed to ‘raft’ together between 100-300 yards from the shoreline. ‘Rafting’ of 11 or more boats is permitted more than 300 yards from the shoreline.

According to the ordinance, “Rafting” means the anchoring, tying, fastening, linking, or joining of any combination of three (3) or more vessels together.”

Over the past few years there have been numerous noise complains, injuries, and even drownings at the sand bar ‘rafting’ parties.

Local police have stated that they will begin to be more intentional about enforcing the commission’s ordinance, specifically during peak times around the sand bar.

#lknsandbar #sandbar #lakenorman #labordayweekend2015 #coolin #IDGT #gates #thetruth #straightlacenochase

A photo posted by Casey Blocksom  (@caseycblocksom) on

Have you been to Lake Norman’s sand bar?

What do you think about the ordinances’ policies?

Vigil Held In Charlotte After NC State Troopers Shot and Killed Deaf Man

Steve
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Vigil Held In Charlotte After NC State Troopers Shot and Killed Deaf Man

kingharris23n-1-web (1)A North Carolina state trooper shot and killed an unarmed deaf man in Charlotte’s University City area this past Thursday night. 29-year-old Daniel Harris was chased through a neighborhood after not pulling over for a speeding violation.

The official NC Highway Patrol statement reads, “While on Seven Oaks Drive, the driver exited his vehicle and an encounter took place between the driver and the trooper causing a shot to be fired.”

According to early reports from neighbors who witnessed the shooting this past Thursday night, a brief altercation occurred once Harris stopped his car, then was shot and killed “almost immediately” after exiting his vehicle.

Witnesses think he was trying to communicate with the officer via sign language.

Daniel Harris was found guilty of resisting an officer in 2010 when he lived in Connecticut, according to public records, and he was found not guilty of misdemeanor larceny and resisting property recovery according to public records.

Last night a solom vigil was held for Daniel:

The family has also started a fundraiser which has now been shared over 3,000 times all across the world, “Our family is raising funds to cover his memorial and cremation expenses (details pending). Any monies left over will be used to set up a foundation in his name to educate and provide law enforcement proper training on how to confront Deaf people. Subsequently, we hope to change the DMV registration system by requiring states to set up a ‘DEAF’ alert to appear when law enforcement look up a car’s license plate. With this change, Daniel will be a hero in our Deaf community.”

The City of Charlotte Is Asking For Resident’s Opinions About Uptown Bike Lanes and Greenway Connectors

Steve
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The City of Charlotte Is Asking For Resident’s Opinions About Uptown Bike Lanes and Greenway Connectors

protected bike lanes charlotteAs Charlotte’s traffic grows, the city continues to wrestle with how to not only increase public transportation, but also how they can better serve bikers and pedestrians on already crowded city streets and sidewalks.

Charlotte’s Department of Transportation recently launched a new study they’re calling “Uptown Connects,” to examine how they link up parks and greenways to make it as easy as possible for non-motorized commuting all around the center city region.

The new study’s notes, “The goal of this study is to identify challenges to and solutions for cycling and walking through Uptown between existing and future greenways and urban trail facilities.”

One of the major goals of the study is to determine if the city should install dedicated bike lanes on one or more streets in Uptown.

A protected bike lane is an on-street bike lane separated from auto traffic by curbs, planters, parked cars or posts – something more than just a stripe of paint on pavement.

Local nonprofit group Sustain Charlotte are the main proponents pushing for the new isolated lanes that would connect multiple green-ways and offer and easy and safe path to ride through our city.

“There are protected bike lanes are being built all over the country, and we don’t have any yet in Charlotte, and we think it’s time that we have them too,” remarked Sustain Charlotte’s executive director Shannon Binns.

Many opponents to the bike lanes, however, argue that they would take up too much real estate on city streets that are already overcrowded with cars.

The CDOT is now planning public workshop on Sept. 20 to gather feedback from Charlotte residents. The workshop will be in the Room 267 of the Government Center uptown from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be a second meeting in November, with a first draft of the new plans scheduled to be complete by December.

[totalpoll id=”5945″]

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South Carolina’s Largest Church Just Launched A New Branch In Rock Hill

Charlotte Stories
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South Carolina’s Largest Church Just Launched A New Branch In Rock Hill

newspring churchNewSpring Church has just launched their first York County campus in Rock Hill. The church recently went through a tragic period with the removal of their founding pastor due to alcoholism, but has shown surprising resilience to rebound back.

NewSpring Church is the largest single church in South Carolina and was recently ranked as the #2 fastest growing church in America. According to their 2015 annual report, the church received $64,297,130 in donations last year from over 32,000 weekly attenders at 17 campuses across South Carolina.

The campus pastor of the newly formed NewSpring Rock Hill is Kaleb White, who was a youth group worship leader at the mega church before achieving the position of campus pastor. Kaleb now lives in Rock Hill with his wife Kristen, his son Levi, and dog Lilly.

Over 1,000 People Prayer Walked Around Charlotte’s Busiest Abortion Clinic Yesterday

Steve
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Over 1,000 People Prayer Walked Around Charlotte’s Busiest Abortion Clinic Yesterday

love life charlotte end abortion in charlotte 2

In one of the biggest prayer walks in Charlotte’s history, over 1,000 people gathered from 40+ Charlotte area churches yesterday to pray for families who might be considering abortion.

The event was organized by ‘Love Life Charlotte‘, a local Christian ministry with a mission to unite churches around Charlotte to support and increase pro-life crisis pregnancy efforts.

Their ultimate goal is to end the demand for abortions in our city.

Charlotte Stories was on hand yesterday to capture footage of the historic prayer march and interview some of its leaders;

One of Love Life Charlotte’s main partners, Cities 4 Life is continually adding new resources and organizations to what they’re calling the ‘Life Network’ – an extensive network of resources for women who are struggling through unwanted pregnancies.

“It’s one thing to be against abortion, but it’s another thing to bring life, to actually bring choices to these mothers that feel like they really have no other choice,” commented David Benham, one of the original founders of Cities 4 Life.

You can follow all of Love Life Charlotte’s progress on their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Was CPCC Student Jake Anantha Kicked Out Of Charlotte’s Trump Rally Due To Racial Profiling?

Charlotte Stories
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Was CPCC Student Jake Anantha Kicked Out Of Charlotte’s Trump Rally Due To Racial Profiling?

Jake Anantha charlotte trump rallyCNN just reported that 18-year-old CPCC student Jake Anantha believed that he was removed from yesterday’s Donald Trump rally due to racial profiling.

The report claimed that Anantha was approached by Trump security because he “resembled another man who had previously disrupted Trump rallies.”

They also noted that he was “wearing a pro-Trump shirt with another pro-Trump shirt underneath.”

This was Anantha’s official statement to CNN:

Soon after the report was published, other rally attenders began to speak up.

Victor Mooney, a 23 year old African-American Charlotte resident, who also attended the rally, was a first hand witness of the entire incident.

Victory questioned Anantha’s need to rush to the front of the crowd, and wondered why he put on his pro-Trump shirt only after he began to attract attention;

Victor also commented that it couldn’t have been an issue of skin color… “If so, I would’ve been escorted out….as well as the other black man who stood in front of me”

Another rally goer claimed to have seen Anantha at other rallies, and that his undershirt was an anti-Trump shirt;

The other factor that raises suspicion is that Jake Anantha started a brand new Twitter account just hours after the highly publicized incident took place (seemingly to respond to all the new attention).

In one of his Tweets, he expresses his clear support of Gary Johnson for president:

What do you think?

Do you think this was a political stunt, or was this a genuine case of racial profiling?

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